Meet Zack Solomon | Comic Book Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zack Solomon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zack, how do you think about risk?
When it comes to risk taking, it feels like simply deciding to venture into an artistic career is a risk in and of itself. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to put yourself out there, whether that’s posting your work online, sharing it with friends/family, etc. For me, one of the biggest risks I took early on was putting loads of time, effort, and funding into my first project, Marked. The wh0le book was written and created on spec, with no guarantee of it ever finding a home with a publisher or even an audience in general. It felt like I was taking this thing that was so precious to me, that I had spent the better part of a year working on, and chucking it into the void in hopes that it would stick somewhere. While it didn’t get picked up by any major publishers, it ended up becoming the project that got my foot in the door at my local comic shop. From there, I became one of the regular local creators, tabling at events and making new friends/connections in the industry.

I’m of the opinion that there has to be an inherent willingness to take risks when it comes to pursuing a career in the arts. Sure, it would be so much easier to sit in my room pounding away at my keyboard all day, filling a Word document with pages and pages of story. But that wouldn’t get me anywhere if I never showed it to anyone for feedback; if I never submitted it for publication or shopped it around to find collaborators, then it would just remain this file on my computer, taking up space on my desktop. It’s the ability to take that risk and share my stories with others in spite of all my anxieties and fears that’s gotten me to where I am today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I try to write the stories that I most want to read. Those tend to skew towards speculative fiction, more specifically Sci-Fi and Horror. I love using the two genres as lenses to closely explore what it means to be a person and all its different facets. So far, I’ve done that through my Horror anthology collection, The Bleekhaven Accounts: a series of standalone horror stories all set in the same house, Bleekhaven, but in different time periods. It’s been a blast working on the series for the past year or so, and its lead to opportunities I never thought I’d receive (which I’m still trying to wrap my head around).

A lot of my longer works are oriented towards a young adult audience. I’ve noticed that the message I’m trying to convey with a lot of my more recent work, much of which is in the works and hopefully on shelves in the not-too-distant future, is this: The world is big and scary and a lot of it sucks and you are not alone. It’s that last bit that I’m really trying to emphasize. My goal with all my writing has been pretty consistent since I started back in early high school. I’m not trying to convey some profound message or write the next American classic. I just want to entertain people. I want to give them an escape from all the bullshit that’s constantly thrown our way. I want to show people these awe-inspiring and/or terrifying worlds and tell them “Hey, you’re gonna be okay, dude.” That’s what I wish I heard more of from the books I read growing up, so that’s what I’ve set out to make. When I work on and tell these stories, I’m providing myself that reassurance as much I’m providing it for the reader. At least, that’s the goal, anyway.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First things first: caffeine. Brick Road Coffee is stop number one. Quite literally the best coffee shop around for creating a safe space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and for having bomb-ass drinks and pastries.

Then, we’re going on a little shopping spree: Zia records, Strange Adventures comics, Changing Hands bookstore (totally not biased because I work there), Palabras bookstore, and finally Gamers Guild (I’m a huge ttrpg and tcg nerd, by the way).

Eventually, we’re going to get hungry, so we’re going to hit up Unos Tacos y Birria, Pete’s Fish and Chips, Cheba Hut, The Chuckbox, Junn AYCE Sushi, Khai Hoan for some pho, and finally Haji Baba for the entire menu.

Finally, we have to get drinks and see a local band perform. My go-to’s for drinks are Valley Bar, The Sleepy Whale, 12 West, and Botleshop 48. From there, we’re going to The Nile, The Rebel Lounge, Crescent Ballroom, or the Trunk Space. I will always prefer a smaller, more intimate venue compared to a large arena.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I feel like I could write a list of acknowledgements longer than any book I could ever write, but I’ll try and keep things concise. I have been so incredibly lucky to have the support network I do. Knowing that I have them at my back has given me all the courage I need.

Obviously, I have to start with my parents. They have not only given me the space and encouragement to pursue my (arguably lucrative and unrealistic) career in writing, but have been with me every step of the way for everything I’ve ever written. I can always rely on them for support, and I am infinitely grateful.

I also have many of my former professors and mentors from my time at Arizona State University to thank. Matt, Jenny, Murrieta, Dr. B, thank you for constantly championing me and my endeavors. I would not be where I am today were it not for your guidance and reassurance that I’m on the right path.

Lastly, thank you to all my friends, my fellow booksellers from Changing Hands, and every local artist, author, and comic shop owner I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know and work with (you all know who you are). Thank you, and I love you.

Website: https://hewritesatnight.com

Instagram: zack__solo